This invention relates generally to pants, and more particularly to a kit providing different means for protecting knees.
Various activities require a great deal of time in a kneeling position wherein knees are often in contact with a floor, roof or with work tools. Various recreational activities, such as biking and roller blading often bring a person's knees into contact with different surfaces. Workmen, such as mechanics, gardeners, plumbers, miners, roofers, carpet layers, and the like, as well as sports and recreational enthusiasts, require sufficient protection in the knee area to protect against injury by stones or other hard substances or irregularities or rough texture on the surface of the ground or other place upon which the wearer is obliged to kneel or likely to have his or her knees come into contact with a relatively hard or irregular surface.
Knee protection requirements for different professions and recreational activities, and even within a particular profession or activity, vary from hard absolute protection from projectiles and particularly irregular textured surfaces, to softer protection where kneeling on a smooth, albeit hard surface, may last for lengthy periods of time. Workmen even need protection from the constant rubbing of heavy, rough clothing against their knees.
Various strap-attached knee pads have been proposed for knee protection, especially hard, absolute protection. However, such straps tend to twist, fall down, and constrict the knee area, causing discomfort. They also allow the knee pad itself to become dislodged from its proper position, thus requiring frequent readjustment.
Another approach to knee area protection is seen in fabric pants that incorporate permanent knee pads into their construction, especially softer protection. However, permanently attached knee pads require a compromise between ease of laundering and pad size, type or thickness. Pants of this type are also limited to one type of pad necessitating a second and even third pair of pants or strap on pads for other needed types of protection.